Saints and Overcomers: Revelation 7:9-17 - All Saints Sunday

 After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!" And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, singing, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen." Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?" I said to him, "Sir, you are the one that knows." Then he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Candlelight vigil 6 by Ben Townsend on Flickr. CC BY 2.0

In our nation’s military, the very best of the best will be selected for membership in the elite special forces units—like the Army Rangers, Green Berets, Marine RECON, or the Navy SEALs. To be selected, you must be in top physical condition—and be complete the most intensive physical, mental, and combat training programs on earth. You’re running dozens of miles through mud wearing backpacks, swimming miles through icy waters, going days without sleep, being pushed beyond your limits. 

To call this an ordeal would be a vast understatement—and it needs to be an ordeal, because these special forces carry out some of the most dangerous and critical missions for our national security. Therefore, these men and women must be the best of the best. 

The good news is that God is not “selective.” Life isn’t a kind of boot camp you must survive to show yourself worthy of citizenship in heaven.

The proof is in the vision described in our first reading from Revelation. A vast multitude from every race, nation, and tongue is standing before the throne of God, waving palm branches, and worshiping. John asks, “who are these people?” He’s told, “these are the ones who’ve come out of the great ordeal” (what is more popularly known as the great tribulation). These aren’t just the few and the proud. These are the many—more than any human mind would have anticipated. 

Consider what that means for us on All Saints Sunday. When you think of a saint, you’re probably thinking of someone who’s life, faith, and witness are exemplary—even heroic. A saint may also be someone who died for their faith; who gave their own life to save another. But what if you are more sinner than saint? What if your faith isn’t so strong, or your deeds so heroic? 

It honestly feels like we are living the book of Revelation in real time. We’re in a deadly plague; our country is in chaos, entire states are ravaged by wildfires and hurricanes, and more people are rejecting the Christian faith than embracing it. And yet, these crises may be the furthest things from your mind. Today may be a painful reminder of loved ones whose deaths have left a gaping hole in your heart that time has not healed. For you, daily has is an ordeal because of a chronic illness, lost job, or broken relationship. Anxiety and depression make every day a fight for survival. You or your loved one is battling an addiction that has taken complete control of your life and dragging it underwater.

But no matter what you—or the people you care about—are going through today, the good news is that God has a white robe for you—and a determination to act powerfully today so that you are part of this vast multitude of the redeemed in the future. It’s God who makes you a saint, not you. To be a saint is to be someone whom God claims; whom God forgives; whom God redeems; and whom God uses to make God’s name known in the world. God is not in the business of rejecting people. In fact, some of the greatest witnesses to God’s grace are those who have been most transformed by it! Some of the greatest witnesses to God’s grace are those for whom every ounce of their own strength failed—but God’s strength kept them going. 

God’s power to save surpass anything your human mind can imagine. 

This demands an attentiveness on your part to God’s presence in your life. It’s not enough to check-in with God when you have the time. For as much as God is invested in you, you must invest yourself in God. Faith is all about responding to God’s action through thankfulness, prayer, Scripture-reading, and living among God’s faithful people. We see way more of God in each other than we ever would if we kept to ourselves. Do not underestimate how greatly God can impact another’s life through you—even when you’re doing nothing you’d consider “heroic.” Especially in this time, when so many people are isolated due to Covid-19 fears, your reaching out in love to another person may be the greatest sign of God’s love for that person.

There are so many toils and tribulations happening all over. So many people—perhaps you personally—going through ordeals that have no ending in sight. But none of these things is more powerful than God’s love. God has a white robe for you and a determination to work powerfully in your life until the end of all things draws near. When you get there, you will be amazed by who joins you—because God is so mighty to save! 

God is reaching the unreachable , loving the unlovable, using the unusable—to make God’s power and glory real to all of us. 

So be of good courage—because you are not facing your ordeals alone. You don’t have to worry about not making the cut. It’s God who makes you a saint. It’s God who makes you an overcomer. It’s God who makes you an angel to entertain angels.